INTRODUCTION

Buddhism 1 is a religion2 and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and
spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated
in India, from where it spread through much of Asia, whereafter it declined in India during
the middle ages. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by
scholars: Theravada (Pali: "The School of the Elders") and Mahayana (Sanskrit: "The Great
Vehicle"). Buddhism is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or
7% of the global population, known as Buddhists.

Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and
canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices.
[6]Practices of Buddhism include Refuge, Samatha, Vipassanā, the Mahayana practice of
Bodhicitta and the Vajrayana practices of Generation stage and Completion stage.

In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the sublime state of nirvana, achieved by
practicing the Noble Eightfold Path (also known as the Middle Way), thus escaping what is
seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth. Theravada has a widespread following in Sri Lanka
and Southeast Asia.

Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon and
Tiantai (Tendai), is found throughout East Asia. Rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead
aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of
rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to
Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a third branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan
Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India,is practiced in

1
Buddhist texts such as the Jataka tales of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, and early biographies such as the
Buddhacarita, the Lokottaravādin Mahāvastu, the Sarvāstivādin Lalitavistara Sūtra, give different accounts
about the life of the Buddha, many include stories of his many rebirths, some add significant embellishments.
Keown and Prebish state, "In the past, modern scholars have generally accepted 486 or 483 BCE for this
[Buddha's death], but the consensus is now that they rest on evidence which is too flimsy. Scholars are
hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most accept that he lived,
taught and founded a monastic order, but do not consistently accept all of the details contained in his
biographies.
2
Other details about Buddha'a background are contested in modern scholarship. For example, Buddhist texts
assert that Buddha described himself as a kshatriya (warrior class), but states Gombrich, little is known about
his father and there is no proof that his father even knew the term kshatriya. Mahavira, whose teachings
helped establish another major ancient religion Jainism, is also claimed to be ksatriya by his early followers.
Further, early texts of both Jainism and Buddhism, suggest they emerged in a period of urbanization in ancient
India, one with city nobles and prospering urban centers, states, agricultural surplus, trade and introduction of
money.
regions surrounding the Himalayas, Mongolia and Kalmykia.Tibetan Buddhism aspires to
Buddhahood or rainbow body.3

LIFE OF BUDDHA

Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha.4 The details of

Buddha's life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social
background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain.

The evidence of the early texts suggests that he was born as Siddhārtha Gautama in
Kapilavatthu, a town in the plains region of modern Nepal-India border, and that he spent his
life in what is now modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.Some hagiographic legends state that his
father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini
gardens. However, scholars such as Richard Gombrich consider this a dubious claim because
a combination of evidence suggests he was born in the Shakyas community – one that later
gave him the title Shakyamuni, and the Shakya community was governed by a small
oligarchy or republic-like council where there were no ranks but where seniority mattered
instead.Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, and claims about the society
he grew up in may have been invented and interpolated at a later time into the Buddhist texts.
[30]

Dhamek Stupa shrine in Sarnath, India, built by Ashoka where the Buddha gave his first
sermon

Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, India, where the Buddha gave his first sermon. It was built by
Ashoka.

Early Buddhist canonical texts and early biographies of Buddha state that Gautama studied
under Vedic teachers, such as Alara Kalama (Sanskrit: Arada Kalama) and Uddaka
Ramaputta (Sanskrit: Udraka Ramaputra), learning meditation and ancient philosophies,
particularly the concept of "nothingness, emptiness" from the former, and "what is neither
seen nor unseen" from the latter.

Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for an
extended period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering and
3
Diseases and suffering indued by the disruptive actions of other people are examples of non-karma suffering.
4
The emphasis on intent in Buddhism marks its difference from the karma theory of Jainism where karma
accumulates with or without intent. The emphasis on intent is also found in Hinduism, and Buddhism may
have influenced karma theories of Hinduism.
means to overcome suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now
called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He
reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way (Skt. madhyamā-
pratipad), a path of spiritual practice to end suffering (dukkha) from rebirths in Saṃsāra.As
an enlightened being (Skt. samyaksaṃbuddha), he attracted followers and founded a Sangha
(monastic order).5 Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his life teaching the Dharma he
had discovered, and died at the age of 80 in Kushinagar, India. Buddha's teachings were
propagated by his followers, which in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE became
over 18 Buddhist sub-schools of thought, each with its own basket of texts containing
different interpretations and authentic teachings of the Buddha; these over time evolved into
many traditions of which the more well known and widespread in the modern era are
Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.

HISTORY

5
Well-known proponents of the first position are A. K. Warder and Richard Gombrich.
Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of Iron Age India around the
middle of the first millennium BCE.6 That was a period, states Abraham Eraly, of great
intellectual ferment, when the Upanishads were composed marking a change in the historical
Vedic religion, as well as the emergence of great Sramanic traditions.7 According to Richard
Gombrich, this was not only a period of intellectual ferment but also socio-cultural change
quite distinct from the early Vedic period.

New ideas developed both in the Vedic tradition in the form of the Upanishads, and outside
of the Vedic tradition through the Śramaṇa movements.The term Śramaṇa refers to several
Indian religious movements parallel to but separate from the historical Vedic religion,
including Buddhism, Jainism and others such as Ājīvika.

Several Śramaṇa movements are known to have existed in India before the 6th century BCE
(pre-Buddha, pre-Mahavira), and these influenced both the āstika and nāstika traditions of
Indian philosophy. According to Martin Wilshire, the Sramana tradition evolved in India over
two phases, namely Paccekabuddha and Savaka phases, the former being the tradition of
individual ascetic and latter of disciples, and that Buddhism and Jainism ultimately emerged
from the Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical ascetic groups shared and used several similar
ideas, but the Śramaṇa traditions also drew upon already established Brahmanical concepts
and philosophical roots, states Wiltshire, to formulate their own doctrines.Brahmanical motifs
can be found in the oldest Buddhist texts, using them to introduce and explain Buddhist ideas.
For example, prior to Buddhist developments, the Brahmanical tradition internalized and
variously reinterpreted the three Vedic sacrificial fires as concepts such as Truth, Rite,
Tranquility or Restraint. Buddhist texts also refer to the three Vedic sacrificial fires,
reinterpreting and explaining them as ethical conduct.

The Sramanic religions challenged and broke with the Brahmanic tradition on core
assumptions such as Atman (soul, self), Brahman, the nature of afterlife, and they rejected the
authority of the Vedas and Upanishads. Buddhism was one among several Indian religions
that did so.

6
Gethin 2008, p. xv.
7
Abraham Eraly (2011). The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books. pp. 538, 571. ISBN 978-0-
670-08478-4.
 DIVISION OF BUDDHISM(SCHOOLS AND TRADITIONS)

Buddhists generally classify themselves as either Theravada or Mahayana.8This classification

is also used by some scholars9 and is the one ordinarily used in the English language. An
alternative scheme used by some scholars divides Buddhism into the following three
traditions or geographical or cultural areas: Theravada, East Asian Buddhism and Tibetan
Buddhism.

Some scholars use other schemes. Buddhists themselves have a variety of other schemes.
Hinayana (literally "lesser or inferior vehicle") is used by Mahayana followers to name the
family of early philosophical schools and traditions from which contemporary Theravada
emerged, but as the Hinayana term is considered derogatory, a variety of other terms are used
instead, including Śrāvakayāna, Nikaya Buddhism, early Buddhist schools, sectarian
Buddhism and conservative Buddhism.

Not all traditions of Buddhism share the same philosophical outlook, or treat the same
concepts as central. Each tradition, however, does have its own core concepts, and some
comparisons can be drawn between them:

Both Theravada and Mahayana traditions accept the Buddha as the founder, Theravada
considers him unique, but Mahayana considers him one of many Buddhas

Both accept the Middle way, dependent origination, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble
Eightfold Path and the Three marks of existence

Nirvana is attainable by the monks in Theravada tradition, while Mahayana considers it

broadly attainable; Arhat state is aimed for in the Theravada, while Buddhahood is aimed for
in the Mahayana

Religious practice consists of meditation for monks and prayer for laypersons in Theravada,
while Mahayana includes prayer, chanting and meditation for both

Theravada has been a more rationalist, historical form of Buddhism; while Mahayana has
included more rituals, mysticism and worldly flexibility in its scope.

8
Keown 1996, p. 12
9
Smith 2006
THERAVADA OR HINAYANA BUDDHISM
Theravāda (Pali, literally "school of the elder monks") is a branch of Buddhism that uses the
Buddha's teaching preserved in the Pāli Canon as its doctrinal core. The Pali canon is the only
complete Buddhist canon which survives in a classical Indic Language, Pali, which serves as
the sacred language and lingua franca of Theravada Buddhism.10 Another feature of
Theravada is that it tends to be very conservative about matters of doctrine and monastic
discipline.11 As a distinct sect, Theravada Buddhism developed in Sri Lanka and spread to the
rest of Southeast Asia.

Theravada also includes a rich diversity of traditions and practices that have developed over
its long history of interactions with varying cultures and religious communities. It is the
dominant form of religion in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and is
practiced by minority groups in Bangladesh, China, Nepal, and Vietnam. In addition, the
diaspora of all of these groups as well as converts around the world practice Theravāda
Buddhism. Contemporary expressions include Buddhist modernism, the Vipassana
movement and the Thai Forest Tradition.

HISTORY OF THERAVADA BUDDHISM

ORIGINS:
10
Crosby, Kate; Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity, 2013, page 2.

11
Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism, a social history from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, Routledge; 2
edition (July 26, 2006), page 37
Asoka and Moggaliputta-Tissa at the Third Council, at the Nava Jetavana, Shravasti

The name Theravāda comes from the ancestral Sthāvirīya, one of the early Buddhist schools,
from which the Theravadins claim descent. After unsuccessfully trying to modify the Vinaya,
a small group of "elderly members", i.e. sthaviras, broke away from the majority
Mahāsāṃghika during the Second Buddhist council, giving rise to the Sthavira sect.
According to its own accounts, the Theravāda school is fundamentally derived from the
Vibhajjavāda "doctrine of analysis" grouping, which was a division of the Sthāvirīya.

According to Damien Keown, there is no historical evidence that the Theravāda school arose
until around two centuries after the Great Schism which occurred at the Third Council.
Theravadin accounts of its own origins mention that it received the teachings that were
agreed upon during the putative Third Buddhist council under the patronage of the Indian
Emperor Ashoka around 250 BCE. These teachings were known as the Vibhajjavada.
Emperor Ashoka is supposed to have assisted in purifying the sangha by expelling monks
who failed to agree to the terms of Third Council.12 The elder monk Moggaliputta-Tissa was
at the head of the Third council and compiled the Kathavatthu (“Points of Controversy”), a
refutation of various opposing views which is an important work in the Theravada
Abhidhamma.

Later, the Vibhajjavādins in turn is said to have split into four groups: the Mahīśāsaka,
Kāśyapīya, Dharmaguptaka, and the Tāmraparṇīya.

Transmission to Sri Lanka

The Theravāda is said to be descended from the Tāmraparṇīya sect, which means "the Sri
Lankan lineage". Missionaries sent abroad from India are said to have included Ashoka's son
Mahinda (who studied under Moggaliputta-Tissa) and his daughter Sanghamitta, and they
were the mythical founders of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, a story which scholars suggest helps to
legitimize Theravāda's claims of being the oldest and most authentic school. According to the
Mahavamsa chronicle their arrival in Sri Lanka is said to have been during the reign of
Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura (307 BCE to 267 BCE) who converted to Buddhism
and helped build the first Buddhist stupas. According to S.D. Bandaranayake:

12
Crosby, Kate (2013), Theravada Buddhism: Continuity, Diversity, and Identity, Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 1–3, ISBN
9781405189071
"The rapid spread of Buddhism and the emergence of an extensive organization of the sangha
are closely linked with the secular authority of the central state...There are no known artistic
or architectural remains from this epoch except for the cave dwellings of the monks,
reflecting the growth and spread of the new religion. The most distinctive features of this
phase and virtually the only contemporary historical material, are the numerous Brahmi
inscriptions associated with these caves. They record gifts to the sangha, significantly by
householders and chiefs rather than by kings. The Buddhist religion itself does not seem to
have established undisputed authority until the reigns of Dutthagamani and Vattagamani (ca
mid-2nd century BCE to mid-1st century BCE)..."13

The first records of Buddha images come from the reign of king Vasabha (65-109 BCE), and
after the 3rd century AD the historical record shows a growth of the worship of Buddha
images as well as Bodhisattvas.

In the 7th century, the Chinese pilgrim monks Xuanzang and Yijing refer to the Buddhist
schools in Sri Lanka as Shàngzuòbù (Chinese: 上座部), corresponding to the Sanskrit
Sthavira nikāya and Pali Thera Nikāya. Yijing writes, "In Sri Lanka the Sthavira school alone
flourishes; the Mahasanghikas are expelled".

The school has been using the name Theravāda for itself in a written form since at least the
4th century, about one thousand years after the Buddha's death, when the term appears in the
Dīpavaṁsa.14

According to Buddhist scholar A. K. Warder, the Theravāda

... spread rapidly south from Avanti into Maharashtra and Andhra and down to the Chola
country (Kanchi), as well as Sri Lanka. For some time they maintained themselves in Avanti
as well as in their new territories, but gradually they tended to regroup themselves in the
south, the Great Vihara (Mahavihara) in Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Sri Lanka,
becoming the main centre of their tradition, Kanchi a secondary center and the northern
regions apparently relinquished to other schools.15

13
Bandaranayake, S.D. Sinhalese Monastic Architecture: The Viháras of Anurádhapura, page 22
14
It is used in the Dipavamsa (quoted in Debates Commentary, Pali Text society, page 4), which is generally
dated to the 4th century.
15
Warder 2000, p. 278
Between the reigns of Sena I (833-853) and Mahinda IV (956-972), the city of Anuradhapura
saw a "colossal building effort" by various kings during a long period of peace and
prosperity, the great part of the present architectural remains in this city date from this period.

Theravāda subdivisions

Over much of the early history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, three subdivisions of Theravāda
existed in Sri Lanka, consisting of the monks of the Mahāvihāra, Abhayagiri vihāra and
Jetavana.The Mahāvihāra was the first tradition to be established, while Abhayagiri Vihāra
and Jetavana Vihāra were established by monks who had broken away from the Mahāvihāra
tradition. According to A.K. Warder, the Indian Mahīśāsaka sect also established itself in Sri
Lanka alongside the Theravāda, into which they were later absorbed. Northern regions of Sri
Lanka also seem to have been ceded to sects from India at certain times.

Buddha painting in Dambulla cave temple in Sri Lanka. The Buddhist cave-temple complex
was established as a Buddhist Monastery in the 3rd century BCE. Caves were converted into
a temple in the 1st century BCE.

When the Chinese monk Faxian visited the island in the early 5th century, he noted 5000
monks at Abhayagiri, 3000 at the Mahāvihāra, and 2000 at the Cetiyapabbatavihāra.

Spread to Southeast Asia

According to the Mahavamsa, a Sri Lankan chronicle, after the conclusion of the Third
Buddhist council, a mission was sent to Suvarnabhumi, led by two monks, Sona and Uttara.16
Scholarly opinions differ as to where exactly this land of Suvarnabhumi was located, but it is
generally believed to have been located somewhere in the area of Lower Burma, Thailand,
the Malay Peninsula, or Sumatra.

Before the 12th century, the areas of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia were
dominated by Buddhist sects from India, and included the teachings of Mahāyāna

16
Mahavamsa: The great chronicle of Ceylon tr. Wilhelm Geiger. Pali Text Society, 1912, Page 82 and 86
Buddhism.17 In the 7th century, Yijing noted in his travels that in these areas, all major sects
of Indian Buddhism flourished.

Though there are some early accounts that have been interpreted as Theravāda in Myanmar,
the surviving records show that most Burmese Buddhism incorporated Mahāyāna, and used
Sanskrit rather than Pali. After the decline of Buddhism in India, missions of monks from Sri
Lanka gradually converted Burmese Buddhism to Theravāda, and in the next two centuries
also brought Theravāda Buddhism to the areas of Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, where it
supplanted previous forms of Buddhism.

The Mon and Pyu were among the earliest people to inhabit Myanmar. The oldest surviving
Buddhist texts in the Pali language come from Pyu city-state of Sri Ksetra, the text which is
dated from the mid 5th to mid 6th century is written on twenty-leaf manuscript of solid gold.
According to Peter Skilling: "From the point of view of both language and contents, I
conclude that the Pali inscriptions of Burma and Siam give firm evidence for a Theravadin
presence in the Irrawaddy and Chao Phraya basins, from about the 5th century CE onwards.
From the extent and richness of the evidence it seems that the Theravada was the
predominant school, and that it enjoyed the patronage of ruling and economic elites. But I do
not mean to suggest that religious society was monolithic: other schools may well have been
present, or have come and gone, and there is ample evidence for the practice of Mahayana
and Brahmanism in the region."

Ruins of Bagan, an ancient capital of Myanmar. There are more than 2,000 kyaung there.
During the height of Bagan's power, there were some 13,000 kyaung.

The Burmese slowly became Theravādan as they came into contact and conquered the Pyu
and Mon civilizations. This began in the 11th century during the reign of the Bamar king
Anawrahta (1044-1077) of the Pagan Kingdom who acquired the Pali scriptures in a war
against the Mon as well as from Sri Lanka and build stupas and monasteries at his capital of
Bagan.18 Various invasions of Burma by neighboring states and the Mongol invasions of
Burma (13th century) damaged the Burmese sangha and Theravada had to be reintroduced
several times into the country from Sri Lanka and Thailand.

17
Sujato, Bhikkhu. Sects & Sectarianism: The Origins of Buddhist Schools. 2006. p. 72
18
Lieberman, Victor B (2003). Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, C. 800-1830, Volume 1:
Integration on the Mainland. Cambridge University Press. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-0-521-80496-7.
The Khmer Empire (802–1431) centered in Cambodia was initially dominated by Hinduism,
Hindu ceremonies and rituals were performed by Brahmins, usually only held among ruling
elites of the king's family, nobles, and the ruling class. Tantric Mahayana Buddhism was also
a prominent faith, promoted by Buddhist emperors such as Jayavarman VII (1181–1215) who
rejected the Hindu gods and presented himself as a Bodhisattva King.

King Jayavarman VII (reigned c.1181–1218) had sent his son Tamalinda to Sri Lanka to be
ordained as a Buddhist monk and study Theravada Buddhism according to the Pali scriptural
traditions in the Mahavihara monastery. Tamalinda then returned to Cambodia and promoted
Buddhist traditions according to the Theravada training he had received, galvanizing and
energizing the long-standing Theravada presence that had existed throughout the Angkor
empire for centuries. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Theravada monks from Sri Lanka
continued introducing orthodox Theravada Buddhism which eventually became the dominant
faith among all classes.19The monasteries replaced the local priestly classes, becoming centers
of religion, education, culture and social service for Cambodian villages. This led to high
levels of literacy among Cambodians.

In Thailand, Theravada existed alongside Mahayana and other religious sects before the rise
of Sukhothai Kingdom. During the reign of King Ram Khamhaeng (c. 1237/1247 – 1298)
Theravada was made the main state religion and promoted by the king.

During the pre-modern era, Southeast Asian Buddhism included numerous elements which
could be called tantric and esoteric (such as the use of mantras and yantras in elaborate
rituals). The French scholar François Bizot has called this "Tantric Theravada", and his
textual studies show that it was a major tradition in Cambodia and Thailand. Some of these
practices are still prevalent in Cambodia and Laos today.

Despite its success in Southeast Asia, Theravāda Buddhism in China has generally been
limited to areas bordering Theravāda countries.

Teachings

Theravāda promotes the concept of vibhajjavāda "teaching of analysis". This doctrine says
that insight must come from the aspirant's experience, application of knowledge, and critical
reasoning. However, the scriptures of the Theravadin tradition also emphasize heeding the

19
Keyes, 1995, pp.78–82
advice of the wise, considering such advice and evaluation of one's own experiences to be the
two tests by which practices should be judged.

Theravāda orthodoxy takes the seven stages of purification as its basic outline of the path to
be followed.

The Theravāda Path starts with learning, to be followed by practise, culminating in the
realization of Nirvana.

Learning

The Three Characteristics

Throughout the Pali Canon, two characteristics of all saṅkhāra (conditioned phenomena) and
one characteristic of all dhammas are mentioned. The Theravāda tradition has grouped them
together. Insight into these three characteristics is the entry to the Buddhist path:

1.): Anicca (impermanence): All conditioned phenomena are subject to change, including
physical characteristics, qualities, assumptions, theories, knowledge, etc. Nothing is
permanent, because, for something to be permanent, there has to be an unchanging cause
behind it. Since all causes are recursively bound together, there can be no ultimate
unchanging cause.

2. Dukkha (suffering): Craving causes suffering, since what is craved is transitory, changing,
and perishing. The craving for impermanent things causes disappointment and sorrow. There
is a tendency to label practically everything in the world, as either "good", "comfortable" or
"satisfying"; or "bad", "uncomfortable", and "unsatisfying". Labeling things in terms of like
and dislike creates suffering. If one succeeds in giving up the tendency to label things, and
freeing himself from the instincts that drive him towards attaining what he himself labels
collectively as "liking", he attains the ultimate freedom. The problem, the cause, the solution
and the implementation, all of these are within oneself, not outside.

3. Anatta (not-self): all dhammas lack a fixed, unchanging 'essence'; there is no permanent,
essential ātta (self). A living being is a composite of the five aggregates (khandhas), which
are the physical forms (rupa), feelings or sensations (vedana), perception (sanna), mental
formations (sankhara), and consciousness (vinnana), none of which can be identified as one's
Self. From the moment of conception, all entities (including all living beings) are subject to a
process of continuous change. A practitioner should, on the other hand, develop and refine
his or her mind to a state so as to see through this phenomenon. Truly understanding this
counter-intuitive concept of Buddhism requires direct and personal experience. This is given
in vipassanā practice, closely watching the continuous changes in the Five Aggregates.20

Dukkha - The Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths are described as follows:

1. Dukkha (suffering): This can be somewhat broadly classified into three categories.
Inherent suffering, or the suffering one undergoes in all the worldly activities, what one
suffers in day-to-day life: birth, aging, diseases, death, sadness and so on. In short, all that
one feels, from separating from "loving" attachments, and/or associating with "hating"
attachments, is encompassed into the term. The second class of suffering, called Suffering
due to Change, implies that things suffer because of attaching themselves to a momentary
state which is held to be "good"; when that state is changed, things are subjected to suffering.
The third, termed Sankhara Dukkha, is the subtlest. Beings suffer simply by not realizing that
they are mere aggregates with no definite, unchanging identity.

2. Dukkha Samudaya (cause of suffering): Craving, which leads to Attachment and Bondage,
is the cause of suffering. Formally, this is termed Tanha. It can be classified into three
instinctive drives. Kama Tanha is the Craving for any pleasurable sense object (which
involves sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and mental perceptives). Bhava Tanha is the
Craving for attachment to an ongoing process, which appears in various forms, including the
longing for existence. Vibhava Tanha is the Craving for detachment from a process, which
includes non-existence and causes the longing for self-annihilation.

3. Dukkha Nirodha (cessation of suffering): One cannot possibly adjust the whole world to
one's taste in order to eliminate suffering and hope that it will remain so forever. This would
violate the chief principle of Change. Instead, one adjusts one's own mind through
detachment so that the Change, of whatever nature, has no effect on one's peace of mind.
Briefly stated, the third Noble Truth implies that elimination of the cause (craving) eliminates
20
P.A. Payutto (2012), Buddha-Dhamma, Bangkok: Pet & Home Publishing House, ISBN 978-616-7585-10-9,
Page 13.
the result (suffering). This is implied by the scriptural quote by The Buddha, 'Whatever may
result from a cause, shall be eliminated by the elimination of the cause'.

4. Dukkha Nirodha Gamini Patipada (pathway to freedom from suffering): This is the Noble
Eightfold Pathway towards freedom or Nirvana. The path can roughly be rendered into
English as right view, right intention, right speech, right actions, right livelihood, right effort,
right mindfulness and right concentration.

Practice:

Theravāda orthodoxy takes the seven stages of purification as the basic outline of the path to
be followed. This basic outline is based on the threefold discipline of sīla (ethics or
discipline), samādhi (meditative concentration) and paññā (understanding or wisdom). The
emphasis is on understanding the three marks of existence, which removes viññāna
(ignorance). Understanding destroys the ten fetters and leads to nibbana.

Theravadins believe that every individual is personally responsible for their own self-
awakening and liberation, as they are the ones that were responsible for their own kamma
(actions and consequences). Great emphasis is placed upon applying the knowledge through
direct experience and personal realization, than believing about the known information about
the nature of reality as said by the Buddha.

Scriptures

The Theravāda school upholds the Pali Canon or Tipitaka as the most authoritative collection
of texts on the teachings of Gautama Buddha. The Sutta and Vinaya portion of the Tipitaka
shows considerable overlap in content to the Agamas, the parallel collections used by non-
Theravāda schools in India which are preserved in Chinese and partially in Sanskrit, Prakrit,
and Tibetan, and the various non-Theravāda Vinayas. On this basis, both these sets of texts
are generally believed to be the oldest and most authoritative texts on Buddhism by scholars.
It is also believed that much of the Pali Canon, which is still used by Theravāda communities,
was transmitted to Sri Lanka during the reign of Ashoka. After being orally transmitted (as
was the custom in those days for religious texts) for some centuries, were finally committed
to writing in the last century BCE, at what the Theravāda usually reckons as the fourth
council, in Sri Lanka. Theravāda is one of the first Buddhist schools to commit the whole
complete set of its Buddhist canon into writing.21

Much of the material in the Canon is not specifically "Theravādan", but is instead the
collection of teachings that this school preserved from the early, non-sectarian body of
teachings. According to Peter Harvey:

The Theravādans, then, may have added texts to the Canon for some time, but they do not
appear to have tampered with what they already had from an earlier period.22

The Pali Tipitaka consists of three parts: the Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma
Pitaka. Of these, the Abhidhamma Pitaka is believed to be a later addition to the first two
pitakas, which, in the opinion of many scholars, were the only two pitakas at the time of the
First Buddhist Council. The Pali Abhidhamma was not recognized outside the Theravāda
school.

The Tipitaka is composed of 45 volumes in the Thai edition, 40 in the Burmese and 58 in the
Sinhalese, and a full set of the Tipitaka is usually kept in its own (medium-sized) cupboard.

Commentaries:

In the 4th or 5th century Buddhaghosa Thera wrote the first Pali commentaries to much of the
Tipitaka (which were based on much older manuscripts, mostly in old Sinhalese). After him
many other monks wrote various commentaries, which have become part of the Theravāda
heritage. These texts do not have the same authority as the Tipitaka does, though
Buddhaghosas Visuddhimagga is a cornerstone of the commentarial tradition.

The commentaries, together with the Abhidhamma, define the specific Theravāda heritage.
Related versions of the Sutta Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka were common to all the early
Buddhist schools, and therefore do not define only Theravāda, but also the other early
Buddhist schools, and perhaps the teaching of Gautama Buddha himself.
21
Harvey, Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 1990, page 3.
22
Peter Harvey, The Selfless Mind. Curzon Press, 1995, page 9.
Theravāda Buddhists consider much of what is found in the Chinese and Tibetan Mahāyāna
scriptural collections to be apocryphal, meaning that they are not authentic words of the
Buddha.[89]

FESTIVALS AND CUSTOMS:

1. Magha Puja
2. Vesakha Puja
3. Asalha Puja
4. Uposatha
5. Vassa (Rain Retreat)

CONCLUSION

The teachings of the Buddha are exceedingly vast and very profound. In fact, over the past
weeks, I have only managed to survey a few of the fundamental teachings of the Buddha, and
these too only superficially. It is said that it is difficult even for a monk living in isolation to
practise all of the fundamental teachings of the Buddha. Nonetheless, if one succeeds in
sincerely cultivating and practising even a few of the many teachings of the Buddha, then one
will have succeeded in making this life more meaningful. One will be certain that one will
again in the future encounter circumstances favourable to the practice of the Dharma and to
the eventual realization of liberation.

Everyone can achieve the highest goal in Buddhism, be he a layman or a monk. All we need
to do is to make an honest effort to follow the Noble Eightfold Path. It is said that those who
have realized the truth, like the Buddha Shakyamuni and His prominent disciples did not do
so accidentally. They did not fall from the sky like rain, nor did they spring up from the earth
like grain. The Buddha and His disciples were once ordinary sentient beings like you and me.
They were once afflicted by the impurities of the mind, desire, ill-will and ignorance. It is
through contacting the Dharma, through purifying their words and deeds, through developing
their minds and through acquiring wisdom that they became free, exalted beings able to teach
and help others to realize the truth. There is therefore no doubt that if we apply ourselves to
the teachings of the Buddha, we too can attain the ultimate goal of Buddhism. We too can
become like the Buddha or like His prominent disciples.

It is of no use merely to listen to the Dharma or to read the Dharma. Similarly, it is of no use
merely to write articles about the Dharma, or to give lectures about the Dharma if we do not
put it into practice. It has been said that those of us who call themselves Buddhists can profit
by occasionally taking stock. If we see that over the past years our practice of the Buddha’s
teachings has brought about a slight change in the quality of our experience (and it will be a
slight change), then we will know that the teachings are having some effect. If all of us put
the teachings into practice, there is no doubt that we will realize their benefits. If we seek to
avoid harming others, if we try our best to help others whenever possible, if we learn to be
mindful, if we learn to develop our ability to concentrate our mind, if we cultivate wisdom
through study, careful consideration and meditation, there is no doubt that the Dharma will
benefit us. It will first lead us to happiness and prosperity in this life and in the next.
Eventually, it will lead us to the ultimate goal of liberation, the everlasting bliss of Nirvana.